The Donut King
{{Short description|2020 American documentary film}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{infobox film
|name=The Donut King
|image=Donut_king.jpg
|caption=Film poster
|director=Alice Gu
|producer={{Plainlist|
- Farhad Amid
- Tom Moran
- José I. Nuñez
- Alice Gu
}}
|writer=Carol Martori
|music=Peter Lauridsen
|cinematography=Alice Gu
|editing={{Plainlist|
- Carol Martori
- Rommel Mendoza
}}
|country=United States
|released={{Film date|2020|08|24|SXSW|ref1={{cite web|url=https://www.sidewalkfest.com/event/drive-in-the-donut-king/|title=Drive-In: The Donut King|website=sidewalkfest.com|date=August 24, 2020|access-date=June 3, 2021}}}}
|language=English
}}
The Donut King is a 2020 American documentary film which tells the life story of California donut shop owner Ted Ngoy.{{Cite web|url=https://ktla.com/morning-news/new-documentary-the-donut-king-follows-cambodian-refugee-ted-ngoys-journey-to-his-multi-million-dollar-donut-empire/|title=New documentary 'The Donut King' follows Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy's journey to multi-million dollar empire|website=KTLA|date=May 21, 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-10-29/review-the-donut-king-documentary|title=Review: A Shakespearean SoCal tragedy, 'The Donut King' charts the rise and fall of Ted Ngoy|date=October 29, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/movies/the-donut-king-review.html|title='The Donut King' Review: Sweet Dreams|first=Devika|last=Girish|work=The New York Times |date=October 29, 2020|via=NYTimes.com}}
Development
The Donut King was directed by Alice Gu, and is her first feature film. Having grown up in Los Angeles, she was doubtful when her children's nanny made a reference to "Cambodian" donuts; she thought all donuts were simply "American". Upon looking into the matter, she learned about Ted Ngoy and became fascinated with the topic. She reached out to Ngoy and other Cambodian families who ran donut shops, and within six weeks began principal photography.
Production
Ngoy was hesitant to return to California for the film; he was estranged from his children and former friends.{{cite web |last1=Venema |first1=Vibeke |title=The Donut King who went full circle - from rags to riches, twice |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-54546427 |website=BBC News |access-date=25 July 2022 |date=28 November 2020}} Gu persuaded him to and, ultimately, he regarded his return as a 'healing experience,' and his ex-wife and children have forgiven him.
Release
The Donut King had its world premiere in the Documentary Feature Competition the South by Southwest film festival.{{cite web |title=Director Alice Gu Wants You to Meet The Donut King |url=https://www.sxsw.com/film/2020/director-alice-gu-wants-you-to-meet-the-donut-king-sxsw-filmmaker-in-focus/ |website=SXSW |access-date=25 July 2022 |date=4 March 2020}}
Reception
=Critical response=
The film received 69/100 on Metacritic, receiving "generally favorable" reviews.{{cite web |title=The Donut King |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-donut-king |website=Metacritic |access-date=25 July 2022}} In a positive review, Richard Whittaker with The Austin Chronicle said that "Gu does stellar work compiling and constructing Ngoy's life story through interviews and archive and contemporary footage," and added "the animation sequences by Chapeau Studios and 1881 Animation that make the perfect drizzle of icing."{{cite web |last1=WHITTAKER |first1=RICHARD |title=Movie Review: The Donut King |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/2020-10-30/the-donut-king/ |website=Austin Chronicle |access-date=25 July 2022 |date=October 30, 2020}} Giving it three-out-of-four stars, Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com called The Donut King "a heartwarming albeit scattered documentary from director Alice Gu," and praised the film for "its balance of poppy visuals and detailed history."{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Nick |title=The Donut King |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-donut-king-movie-review-2020 |website=RogerEbert.com |access-date=25 July 2022 |language=en |date=October 30, 2020}} In a mixed review, Brad Wheeler of The Globe and Mail said the film is "well worth watching" while saying there "are holes in this doughnut story."{{cite web |last1=Wheeler |first1=Brad |title=Review: The Donut King, a sweet documentary that doesn't tell the hole truth |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/reviews/article-the-donut-king-a-sweet-documentary-that-doesnt-tell-the-hole-truth/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=25 July 2022 |date=19 November 2020}}
Impact
Whittaker said that "as Asian Americans face increasing racism, its closing message about how immigrant communities...define America has only become more timely."
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|tt10214496}}
- [https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/the-donut-king/ The Donut King] at PBS.org
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Donut King}}
Category:2020 documentary films
Category:American documentary films
Category:Documentary films about businesspeople
Category:Films about Cambodian Americans
Category:2020s English-language films
Category:English-language documentary films
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